by SEBASTIEN ROBLIN
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a legendary aircraft—an icon of the Vietnam War and the archetype of the third-generation jet fighter designs that entered service in the 1960s. More than 5,000 of these heavy supersonic fighters were built, and hundreds continue to serve and even see combat in several air forces today.
But the Phantom’s record in air-to-air combat over Vietnam—especially when compared to its successor, the F-15 Eagle, which has never been shot down in air-to-air combat—has left it with a reputation of being a clumsy bruiser reliant on brute engine power and obsolete weapons technology.
This is unfair.
The Phantom’s fundamental flaws were corrected by 1970—while more recently, Phantoms have had their avionics and ordnance upgraded to modern standards. These modernized Phantoms flown by the Turkish and Greek air forces can do pretty much what an F-15 can do … at a much lower price.
